


Moon River

by planetarydaydream



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Non-binary!Remus, Sirius’s POV, non binary character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:21:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29931987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/planetarydaydream/pseuds/planetarydaydream
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Kudos: 6





	1. Moon River

It wasn’t a good day to be in Grimmauld Place. No, Sirius thought it would be best to stay far away. Because today was the day Orion would return from his business trip. And he and Walburga would have their screaming match, as usual. 

So Sirius pulled on his leather jacket and boots so he could get out of the house. He started to make his way through the long and dark halls, but suddenly stopped and sighed. Regulus. He had to at least try to help his brother.

Sirius knocked on the door, that nowadays was always closed. No response.

“Reggie?” 

After a moment, the door opened to reveal Regulus, his dark hair a mess and bags under his eyes. He had a book in his hand with his finger marking the page. 

“What, Sirius?” 

“Wanna go for a walk? Get out into town?” 

“I’m reading,”

“You can read anytime. Besides, dad’s coming home. We should get out,” 

“I have work to do. I’ll be fine,” 

“Okay...” said Sirius, a little put out. His brother used to love going on adventures with him. “Maybe next time then?”

“Maybe,”

“Bye Reggie,”

“Bye Siri,”

So Sirius left. He wasn’t sure exactly where he wanted to go. The sun was already setting, and it would be dark soon. So he opted to walk mindlessly through the forest by his house. It was nice and quiet. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it up.

Sirius didn’t even like cigarettes that much. He mostly just liked the act of rebelling. But over the year he had gotten used to the taste of them. Marlene would give them to him, if they were at school. But when she ran out he’d bought a stash from Gideon. 

It was a bad habit, James always said. But it was too late now. He leaned his back up against a tree. Sirius vaguely knew where he was. He was near the small pond he and Reggie used to float paper boats on.

Then, Sirius heard the music. It sounded like guitar. Intrigued, he followed the sound. The song was familiar but he couldn’t place it, until a voice started to sing along.

“Moon river, wider than a mile, I’m crossing you in style someday,”

Sirius remembered the song from an movie he had seen on television when he was younger. He’d always loved that song.

He followed the music to the clearing around the pond. By now, it really was dark in the forest, but the absence of trees and the reflection of the full moon on the water made it so it was bright enough for Sirius to see. 

There was a person, sitting on the edge of the pond. They strummed at the guitar, while singing along to Moon River. And they were the most beautiful person Sirius had ever seen. 

They had perfect bronze curls that hung in their eyes, and scars and freckles littered their face. They wore a green jumper and blue jeans. Their pale skin seemed to glow in the moonlight. Sirius was in awe. He had the overwhelming urge to go sit beside them, but decided it was a bad idea to sneak up on random strangers in a forest in the dark. So he decided to sing along.

“Two drifters, off to see the world,  
There's such a lot of world to see,  
We're after the same rainbow's end,” they sang in unison. Sirius started out quietly but grew louder as they neared the end of the verse. 

Then, they heard him, and the music stopped. They jumped up from their seat as they saw Sirius.

Sirius was entranced by their pale amber eyes. But they quickly turned, and started to run away. Sirius realized what he had done.

“Wait! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” he shouted after them.

But as he found out, they were tall and fast and most likely didn’t hear him. Sirius knew he wouldn’t be able to catch up, so he began his walk home. He was in no hurry. In his life he had learned not to be afraid of the dark. 

But when he finally crept back through the halls and wen to bed, he couldn’t get the mysterious singer out of his mind.


	2. Yesterday

It was a pleasant Sunday morning, luckily. Sirius ate his breakfast with Regulus at eight o’clock. He had wanted to sleep in, but knew if he did his mother would come and wake him up, so he thought he may as well bite the bullet. 

Sirius buttered his toast, and looked over at Regulus, who was eating as he read.

“What book is that?”

“1984,”

“I read that once. I thought it was boring. And Winston was such a creep,” mused Sirius.

“I like it,” Regulus said dryly as he turned the page, not even looking up at Sirius.

They finished their breakfast in silence. Nowadays, everything with Regulus was so awkward, so cold. Sirius wasn’t quite sure what had happened. He knew he was deviating from their family values and all, but Regulus had never used to mind.

Sirius went back to his room, got his iPod and earbuds and put on Electric Warrior. He reclined in his bed, as the soft beat of Mambo Sun filled his head. He wanted to play it loud, but he doubted they’d appreciate rock music. He hoped that one day, he would move somewhere where he could play his music as loud as he wanted. There were so many things he wanted to do. Learn guitar, get a motorbike, and most of all to finally be free from Grimmauld Place. 

He took out his sketchbook and started to draw, letting the ideas flow through his mind into the pencil. Sirius drew along with the music. It was one of his favourite things to do. 

Later that night, once his parents had gone to bed, he snuck out once again. He walked through the forest, travelling on the familiar path. The sky was beginning to darken, making way for the stars. Sometimes, Sirius would lie down by the pond clearing and stargaze through the night. He thought he might do that again tonight, as the sky was cloudless.

But as he made his way to the clearing, he heard the familiar strum of guitar.

“Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away, now it looks as though they’re here to stay, oh, I believe in yesterday,” 

Sirius wasn’t sure what to do. The singer intrigued him, but he didn’t want to scare them again. So he listened in silence for the remainder of the song. Once the chords faded out, he slowly sat down near the singer. Once they noticed his presence, they flinched.

“Fucking hell,” they said softly. “Are you stalking me?”

“Actually, this is my stargazing spot. You stole it,” Sirius responded.

“I’ll leave you in peace then, I can find a new practice spot,” they said, starting to stand up.

“No!” Sirius said, grabbing their hand. They frowned, and Sirius realized what he had done and quickly let go. “Sorry, I’m sorry. I just meant, we can share it, if you want. Serenade me,”

They sat back down. “Serenade you? I don’t even know you,”

“I’m Sirius Orion Black, pleased to make your acquaintance. And you are?” 

“I’m not going to tell you my name, you could still be a stalker,”

“Fine. I’ll have to think of a nickname for you... The first time I saw you, you were playing Moon River. So... I’m gonna call you Moony,” 

“Moony... I like that. Pleased to meet you, Sirius Orion Black,” 

“Know any Bowie?” Sirius asked.

“I can play a few of his songs,” said Moony.

“Play one for me, to be the soundtrack to my stargazing endeavours?”

“I’m still not serenading you. I don’t sing in front of people,”

“Really, you already sang two songs to me. What’s another? Just pretend I’m not here,”

Moony pondered this for a moment, their curls falling into their face. “Fine. But only because I need to practice,”

Sirius smiled, and reclined on the ground, gazing at the constellations. And Moony started to play one of Sirius’s favourite songs: Moonage Daydream. It was perfect.

“Keep your electric eye on me, babe. Put your ray gun to my head. Press your space face close to mine, love. Freak out in the moonage daydream, oh yeah,”

And the stars were beautiful. Sirius always tried to look for his star and the constellation Canis Major. The song faded out, and then Moony started to put their guitar in its case.

“Leaving so soon?” said Sirius.

“I had already been here three hours before you came, so I’d better be going,”

“Oh, okay,” Sirius said, trying not to sound disappointed. “Will I see you here tomorrow?”

“You might,” 

“Bye Moony,”

“Bye Sirius Orion Black,”

And so Sirius watched the stars a little longer, before heading back home.


	3. Bohemian Rhapsody

“What’s up with you, mate?” James said  
as they walked to class.

“I met someone last night,” Sirius said mysteriously.

“Oh yeah? Who are they? Where’d you meet them?” James asked excitedly. After he had gotten together with Lily that year, he had been hoping Sirius would find someone too, for cheesy double dates and such. James was a hopeless romantic.

“I met them in the clearing by the pond in the forest near my house. They play guitar, and I call them Moony,” Sirius said sheepishly.

“Moony? Is that their name?” James said.

“Well, they wouldn’t tell me their name,  
so I started calling them Moony,”

“Weird, Pads. Very weird. You don’t even know this person! You met them in a forest! They could be anyone!” James said.

Sirius had expected this reaction. He knew it was weird. But he seemed oddly drawn to this Moony character, and wanted nothing more than to see them again.

—

“Mama, ooo, I don’t want to die, but I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all,” Moony sang as Sirius made his way into the clearing. Their voice was so full of emotion. They played the bit before the operatic section, and then stopped.

“Hi,” they said. Moony sat on a blanket laid out on the grass.

“Hi,”

“So, you came,” they said.

“Of course I came! I would never miss out on my own private forest concert!” 

“Well you’re not going to hear much today. I’ve got reading to do,” 

“How are you going to read! It’s dark,” 

“Flashlight,”

“Are your reading for school?”

“Yeah, I’ve got To Kill A Mockingbird. I actually quite like it,”

“Really? What year are you in?” Sirius asked.

“Fifth, you?”

“Me too!” Sirius said. “Do you go to Hogwarts?”

“No, I go to the school a few blocks from here,” They then pulled out their book and started to read by flashlight. The sky was cloudy, and Sirius couldn’t see any stars at all.

“There’s no stars,” he said.

“Shh, I’m reading,”

“You can read anytime. Talk to me!” Sirius said, knowing he was coming off as desperate. To his surprise, they bookmarked the book and put it down. Sirius sat down beside them, not too close.

“I don’t know, you could still be planning to kill me,” they said.

“If I were wouldn’t I have done it already? Besides, you already told me your age and where you go to school,”

“Well, shit,”

“Why do you play guitar and do homework in the forest?” Sirius asked.

They pondered the question for a moment. “It’s quiet here, I guess. At home, it’s all yelling and fighting,”

“I get that, my parents are always arguing,”

“It’s really shitty. Is that why you come here too?” 

“Yeah, I guess so. And the stars. This really is the best place in the city. There’s barely any light pollution,”

“Are you into all that astrology bullshit too, then?”

“How dare you speak about astrology that way!” Sirius said in mock anger. 

“My friend Dorcas is super obsessed. Apparently I’m a Pisces, whatever that means,”

“Pisces is good,”

“Why?”

“I’m a Scorpio, and Scorpio and Pisces are very compatible. If you were a Libra I’d have to leave and never speak to you again,” 

“Well good thing I’m not a Libra then,” they said in a voice laced with sarcasm.

“Really, I’m more interested in astrology. My family has this tradition where everyone’s named after some sort of celestial being, so I had to learn it when I was little,” 

“Sounds like you’ve got a pretty weird family,”

Sirius laughed. “That’s an understatement! My cousin Bella, or Bellatrix, is a right nutter. So’s my mum,”

“I think my mum’s a bit nutty too. And my dad just likes to set her off,” 

“Have you got any siblings?”

“Nope, only child. You?”

“I’ve got a little brother, Regulus. He’s okay,”

“Well that’s good, I suppose,” they said, after a moment. They then yawned.

“Are you tired?” 

“Yeah. I woke up at five this morning. Do you mind if I take a kip?”

“Here?” 

“May as well,” they said, reclining on the blanket. Sirius thought it was odd to sleep in a forest, but who was he to judge?

“Wake me up before you go,” they said sleepily.

“Okay, goodnight Moony,”

“G’night,” they responded softly, closing their eyes. Moony looked angelic.

Sirius took of his jacket and laid it out on the ground. He took his iPod out of his pocket and put his playlist on shuffle. The beginning notes of Ziggy Stardust began to play. And though he didn’t mean to, he began to peacefully drift off as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! please comment and leave kudos, it would make me ever so happy! i’ll try to post the next chapter this week, or early next week.


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